Bits and Pieces
by lilysash97
Summary: And by X-overs, I mean there might be alot of random stuff in here. Why isn't there a category called General/Everything? I guess that would be too complicated. Rated T because I cuss occasionally.


**This was the second rough draft for what was going to be called Horizon, but now is named Not The Best Choice. If you must know, it was originally going to be called that because Alexandra's code name-thing was Project: Horizon. Geddit? Horizon...wings... I thought it kind of made sense. Alexandra's an OC of mine. My only OC actually.**

**Anywho, for everyone who've read NTBC, you probably already know Good and Sein, but this universe is different in that Dr. Clarke, also known as dad to a certain someone, actually cares about his experiment, Alexandra, in this story. Also, she hasn't woken up yet (from the life support tube thingy) so Good (Cynthia) isn't emotionally attached yet. At least not very much.**

**Remember, none of these little story-bits are longer than one chapter. I'm just showing off my writing. Which, I'll admit, isn't GLORIOUS. But it's still decent compared to alot of this website. And I like uploading. Uploading is fun.**

**In this snippet, Sein is hired and then we get to see him and Good interact. **

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It was the beginning of summer, graduation was a few weeks ago, and Sein was using a gift card to treat himself to a Chai. It was his grandma's little joke, she kept him caffeinated as long as he didn't talk her ear off about his classes.

"I can't understand a word you say sometimes Jack," she'd say with a laugh. "Too smart for your old Grandma. But let's make sure you stay awake for all those classes."

He was surprised out of his reverie when a distinguished older man sat down at his table.

"Jackson Sein?"

"Yes sir?" _Who the heck are you? _Sein wondered.

He turned out to be Dr. Evan Clarke, the researcher/scientist who had discovered how to make lung tissue grow back. (A boon for smokers everywhere!)

Dr. Clarke had a proposal for Sein. He was in charge of a privately funded project meant to better the lives of Mobians and humans. Physical enhancements: stronger bones, faster reflexes, even a few..._extras. _On the way it might be necessary to create better painkillers, but they were good developments overall. Not strictly legal, but that just made things more interesting.

Sein accepted immediately. The doctor's plan worked perfectly. An (admittedly) exciting project and a healthy helping of flattery for the young man. Sein was intensely pleased with himself. He was (literally) being handed the chance to work with a prestigious scientist. He was going places. Grandma was going to be so proud.

Sein however, didn't know that Dr. Clarke hadn't simply approached him because of his old dean's glowing recommendations (though they'd helped). He'd also chosen Sein because the boy would be likely to keep his trap zipped.

The grandmother was the his only living family and Sein had no close friends. Exactly what the doctor wanted. He intended to keep this project a secret, and he'd never trusted confidentiality agreements (even fancy looking official ones) to keep people's mouths shut. The less people the boy had in his life, the less likely he would be tempted to chat about his work.

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Sein started work the following week. It was a small lab, with the best materials and equipment money could buy. On his first day Dr. Clarke dropped a pile of papers on his desk and plunked a flash drive on top.

"If you need any more information be sure to tell me."

"Sir, what exactly do you want me to do?" asked Sein.

Clarke grinned and pulled a photograph out of his shirt pocket. "This is my little princess. She just celebrated her seventh birthday. I want you to design her a pair of wings by her ninth."

The picture held a young, bluish-gray Mobian hedgehog floating in a glass tube of liquid.

_When the doctor mentioned slightly illegal I thought he was kidding. We're using a sentient being as a guinea pig?!_

Dr. Clarke returned the photo to his pocket and fixed Sein with a mildly threatening stare, daring him to say anything.

"S-sir, isn't that impossible?" Jack decided to drop the topic for the safety of his job.

The doctor grinned, slapped the younger man on the back and declared, "My dear boy, we are scientists. We create the impossible. We cause the improbable!"

Then, with a laugh worthy of a lightning strike for a dramatic background, he left Sein' s office.

The young scientist wiped a bead of sweat from the back of his neck and sank down in his chair to look at the experiment' s information.

_Experiment...this is a child! _Jack shook the thought from his mind and began to read.

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A few weeks later, Sein was doing some blood work to determine how much oxygen the experiment' s blood could hold. One of his coworkers, an engineer named Cynthia Good who used to work for another company, entered the room. She smiled at him.

"Hey there New Guy, how are the wings coming along? The doc's really excited."

Sein shyly met her gaze. "Erm...fine. Better than I expected. I'm surprised they thought to alter her bones."

"Yeah, Carl helped do that. Never occurred to me, but it does make sense. Fill the bones with air pockets to lower body weight and make flight easier. Then Ralph made this nifty serum to strengthen them..."

"We have a good team here."

"Hand picked," said Cynthia.

"Speaking of which, how did I get the wings to work on? Hardly grunt work, you know?"

"Yeah, just out of college right?" Cynthia laughed. "Well the doc wanted a good biology/anatomy major for this job, and the Dean pointed you out cause you're such a little Poindexter."

Ignoring Sein' s blush, she continued talking. "He went to chat with your anatomy teacher, who gave the doc a copy of your term paper."

"Theorems On Natural Flight?" asked Sein.

"I think that was the one. You wrote about avian-inspired wings on humans, but Mobians aren't much different. Well, the basic structure isn't. Anyway, he came to work the next day SO excited. He was like 'I gotta have this guy.' Give yourself a pat on the back Sein, it's hard to really wow the doc."

Politely ignoring his reddened cheeks, Cynthia bent her head over a microscope, studying the structure of the super-strong fabric she was working on. After a few minutes Sein broke the silence.

"Cynthia, do you know why Dr. Clarke acts so..."

"Obsessed?" Good grinned.

"Yeah, it's a little creepy."

"Well, he IS getting old, so that might have something to do with it. I don't think he has a family, so maybe the experiment is the closest he's ever come to having a kid."

"It's so unnatural though. You aren't supposed to act that way in this field!" insisted Sein.

Good looked at him. "So what are you going to do about it? The experiment is incredibly resilient, Carl was shocked by how well she took to the bone-altering process. So it isn't likely she's going to die anytime soon, which is good for the doctor..."

There was a moment of silence before Cynthia bit her lip a little, looking concerned.

"He is a little crazy about her. I've heard him refer to her as his daughter. This is the biggest project he's worked on, she's almost like his reason for living." She sighed. "And the experiment hasn't even woken up yet."

"That's good. Grafting wings on it will probably be really traumatic." said Sein.

"How can you refer to her in such clinical terms?!" Cynthia asked, almost angrily.

"What am I supposed to do? If I don't my morals drive me crazy, I mean, it's a..." Sein trailed off.

"Child." finished Good.

An awkward silence fell, and the subject was dropped.

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**I hope that was a good little character-builder for Sein and Cynthia. (The Dr. is completely ooc in this.) I wrote two rough drafts before the final version (which was like neither). I do that alot, eventually ending up with the best ideas. Be happy I did too, this old plot was crazy-complicated, with time traveling and shit. I mean, romance is hard enough! (But it's gonna be fun)**_  
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**:D**

**See you guys later.**


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